While I'm away....

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In the 'hood

A whole month away from blogging so I'm not sure if I really deserve this as a blog award but since (not so) Cynical Knitter was so thoughtful to think of me when handing out her awards and we do seem to share that 'Burgh sisterly thing, I figured it's only fair to go ahead and play along.

The rules of this award are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

And so I pass along the 'jeans' to my fellow sisters who have played a role in my sisterhood circle:

Ruth, A.K.A. Scoop Murphy and fellow 'Burgh sister in crime

Jaz, my knitting sen say and sister that I really should find more time to spend with

Chan the sister from afar who knows just what my heart needs to keep moving forward

Stacey my sister from the south who keeps me looking on the brighter side of life

Katie the sister I swear I was separated at birth from and reunited through SP12, where would we be without knitting swaps?!?!?

Irishgirlknits, my enabling sister

Holly Jo who I would gladly be her sister just so I could be the aunt who spoils those adorable boys of hers

Ashley my household sister

and a shout out to my S.H.E (Sisterhood of the Epicurious) group of gals that meets each week for dinner and sisterhood support

And to all knitting sisters out there, grab yourself a button, a nice bottle of wine, a chick flick and a few close galpals and settle in for some enjoyable sisterhood time.

On another note, a little ways back I entered into a blog contest that required knitting a pair of fingerless mitts and posting about them. Since I was in the midst of knitting a pair at the time I quickly finished and entered. Low and behold I won. Jessi from Alabama Fiber Dreams was in charge of sending along my prize. I had totally forgot all about it and when I came home from visiting sick family members all week, there it was waiting for me. I never realized Jessi's yarn was so wonderful!!! I can't even begin to explain how squishy and soft and bouncy like this yarn is. I don't think I've ever felt anything like it! It's a merino/bamboo blend and I'm in love! Jessi, are you still dying these up and selling them??? Why hadn't I discovered these before??? How could I have been in the dark about this yarn??? Look at it there just begging to be squeezed and cuddled again.

And as if that wasn't enough, included were these lovely stitch markers! They out rank all other markers in my collection to date. That gal is one talented lady, I tell you. Here I was excited about completing another pair of fingerless mitts and getting to see what others were producing, I never thought I would end up with treasures such as these! What a lucky gal am I!

Look Mom!

Look what I can do!

Years ago, long before the thought of knitting even entered my mind, my mom stumbled upon some crocheting supplies and sent them off to me at college thinking that I could teach myself a little crafty skill. We were always quite the crafty duo growing up and I think mom was missing her side kick. But try as I might, I just couldn't get the hang of it.

Fast forward ten years or so later and knitting comes into my life. Somehow it came much easier and I've loved every minute, every stitch that it's given me. But it's always kind of bugged me that I wasn't able to get the hang of crocheting.

Not long ago I invested in some Susan Bates bright colored plastic hooks in a little pouchy type thing on sale. I figured, why not give it a go again. How bad could it really be? Surely if I can master 5 dpns for a pair of socks I can master 1 hook, right?

Several attempts later, I was devastated that giving this a go on my own was not going to work. Luckily I found a lovely co-worker who was willing to give me a little lesson in proper hooking techniques. While I'm still getting the hang of holding tension in my left hand (I'm a right handed thrower when knitting) I'm proud of my first accomplishments. These beauties will be sent off to mom with all my love from a crafting daughter miles away.

Woolgirl happiness

Nasty stomach virus germs, run for your life! The doors and windows are open. A can of lysol and a warm breeze are clearing out the house today. Your miserable life here is soon to come to an end. Mah-mah-mah-cough (evil laugh).

And what better way to celebrate the death of this virus that nearly was the death of me? Yarn goodness of course! And Woolgirl was just the ticket! I was lucky enough to get in on the Woolgirl 2009 sock club and boy am I excited!!! The first package arrived the other day and I couldn't be happier with the surprises that were inside!

The theme for this package was Cleopatra - being the Queen of your knitting. Everything included fit the Eqyptian feel of the Pharaoh herself. Let's start with the yarn treats.That, my friends, is the intriguing and 'oh my pharaoh's stars above I can't believe I'm touching something this soft and yummy' Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Sock yarn in Gold Dynasty. The coloring is a little washed out in the photo and is more like the desert sun reflecting off of the queen's jewlery. It's 450 yards of 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. That's right, is said 450 yards. Do you think I have enough here to mummify myself in?

Two patterns were included - one sock and one scarf - both specially designed specifically for this particular yarn and the Cleo theme. Thank you both Elizabeth Warner and Lisa Dykstra for beautiful creations!

There was also this great Lantern Moon silk project bag, a Mama Llama stitch marker, a Queen of knitting pen, calendar magnet, sample SOAK, and hand lotion hand made from Rachel Rene. And check out this cute pyramid box and what I found inside from Gayle's Chocolates!

Since this queen has got some knitting to get to, I leave you with a shot of the hand made card from Willa Landino and wish all my fellow queens of knitting a happy, healthy, and beautiful weekend.

Napping Nedly

How could you not fall in love with Snoozing Ned? I mean come on. The minute my eyes gazed upon him I knew I needed to have one of my own. I found a soft and sweet cotton and some brown and tan felt hanging around here that would fit the bill perfectly and got to work. The pieces knit up quickly. I cheated a little and used some stitch witchery - that iron on no sew stuff to attach the felt pieces to the knit pieces. And then the project sat. The seaming of all those parts and pieces was a bit intimidating and unattractive. But after about a month of sitting there staring at me, I finally gave in and began the process putting him all together. I had another little surprise idea. Just inside his belly, I added a pouch of lavender. So if you squish him he smells fresh and relaxing, ready for a delightful nap.

Ex-ten-d-ed we-ek-end

I headed up north this past weekend looking forward to a little time with the family. Some special time set aside to spend with the little man doing whatever his little precious heart desired, hanging out with the females of the clan in the evening at a bridal celebration, and a nice breakfast with mom and dad at my favorite Eat-nParK. The weather forecast was looking good. I even put in to get out of work a little early to get on the road to beat the traffic. What I didn't count on was running behind the flu bug. Before I left there was a runny nose and a slight cough to contend with. No biggie I thought. But as the trip wore on, the amount of time driving with my elbows with Kleenex in hand became exponential. Add to that the achy back and all I wanted to do was to get there quick and take a nap. That would solve it all and all would be right with the world. Wrong. As Friday evening wore on it became more apparent that I wasn't getting out of this one, and by Saturday morning there was no escaping the entitlement of having caught the flu. The next 3 1/2 days were spent in bed. So mom and dad got me for a little longer than they had expected, and I casually left them with a parting gift (they both caught the bug from me) when I was finally well enough to drive my sorry butt home. I'm still sniffling and coughing and the littlest bit of activity exhausts me, but I'm much better now. I have some progress to share along the knitting front, but that will have to wait for another day... typing is taking the energy out of me. Stay well.

Turning stitches

This past year has brought many changes to my life..... so many thoughts that I'd rather not enter into right now are tempting to flash through my mind. But here I want to focus on something knitting related. Something to show that I'm Kreative for Chan. I was fortunate enough to get involved with Secret Pal 12 this past year and magically was paired up with a lovely gal from PA who just may be my wouldabeen-couldabeen-shouldabeen long-lost twin sis. Ever since, she's been there for me and I for her through some emotional ups and downs. She's inspired me to get myself some crochet hooks (although some actual lessons will be needed to get them to function properly) and I've gotten her back into the swing of loving working with her yarns. Just after the holidays she introduced me to another wonderful gal with whom she'd been in close contact with and suggested that the three of us do a mini KAL together. It would appear that we three Muskateetes were experiencing some somewhat similar emotional challenges/life changes and the KAL was meant to be a sort of symbolic bonding of the friendships we've made and maybe provide us with a reminder of the strength we've given each other. My SP12 pal, Katie, was in the process of going through all of her yarn and deciding what to destash in hopes of an up coming move. She found several skeins of a lovely Lornas Laces and decided to send two skeins to each of us to use for our KAL. Now each of us would have the same yarn to tie our friendships together. We knew we were going to settle on a scarf pattern, but which to choose. Many Ravelry searches later, and Shifting Sands seemed to be the ideal pattern. The name itself appeared to suggest the changes or shifting happening in each of our lives. The color changes would dance and play and twist and turn as it traveled along. How much more symbolic can you get??? And as I began to slowly allow the yarn to slide through my fingers and wrap around and off the needles, an amazing sense of calm came over me.... a wonderful feeling of zen.

I actually did this portion during a school board meeting regarding the budget and stayed calm and relaxed through the whole thing! Even when they announced that they are cutting my position! Don't worry, I still have a job. I just won't be doing the same thing next year that I am this year. I wasn't worried about finishing quickly. I figured that change takes time and since this scarf is representing the friendships I've made through my changes, it could take some time too. But progress it did.

One repeat here, two there, relaxed, calmed, and clearheaded, it didn't take long before I had something wonderful. Something that I've worn everyday this week to remind me of the shifting happening in my life and of the friendships I have to give me strength. Many changes still lay ahead. But now I have this beauty to arm myself with to remind me of the strength and faith my friends give me. Thank you, Katie. For everything.

Feng Shui Horoscope

I got this in an email and thought it was interesting enough to share it here.

Watch your 'Thoughts,'

they become words.
Watch your 'Words,'

they become actions.
Watch your 'Actions,'

they become habits.
Watch your 'Habits,'

they become character.
Watch your 'Character,'

for it becomes your

Destiny.

Take just a couple of minutes to take this test & see what happens!
If you are honest this tells the truth -- it'spretty good.
Write your answers on a piece of paper, NO cheating!! The answers are at the bottom.

1. Which is your favorite color: red, black, blue, green, or yellow?
2. Your first initial?
3. Your month of birth?
4. Which color do you like more, black or white?
5 . Name of a person of the same sex as yours.
6.Your favorite number?
7. Do you like California or Florida more?
8. Do you like a lake or the ocean more?
9. Write down a wish (a realistic one).

When you're done, scroll down. Don't cheat.

my responses:

1 green

2 w

3 Oct.

4 black

5 Jen

6 7

7 California

8 lake

9 to find someone to share inner happiness with

Answers:

1. If you choose:
Red - You are alert and your life is full of love.
Black - You are conservative and aggressive.
Green -Your soul is relaxed and you are laid back.
Blue - You are spontaneous and love kisses and affection from the ones you love.
Yellow -You are a very happy person and give good advice to those who are down.

2. If your initial is:
A-K - You have a lot of love and friendships in your life.
L-R - You try to enjoy your life to the maximum and your love life is soon to blossom.
S-Z - You like to help others and your future love life looks very good.

3. If you were born in:
JAN- MAR: The year will go very well for you and you will discover that you fall in love with someone totally unexpected.
APR-JUN: You will have a strong love relationship that will last forever.
JUL- SEP: You will have a great year and will experience a major life-changing experience for the good.
OCT- DEC : Your love life will be great, you will find your soulmate.

4. If you chose...
Black: Your life will take on a different direction, it will be the best thing for you, and you will be glad for the change.
White: You have a friend who completely confides in you and would do anything for you, but you may not realize it.

5.This person should be your best friend.

6. This is how many close friends you will have in your lifetime.

7. If you chose:
California: You like adventure.
Florida : You are a laid back person.

8. If you chose:
Lake : You are loyal to your friends and your lover and are very reserved.
Ocean: You are spontaneous and l ike to please people.

9.This wish will come true if you send this to 1 person in one hour. Send it to ten people, and it will come true before your next Birthday.

Wonder what will happen depending on how many people read it here?!?!?!?

Living up to expectations

If Chan thinks I deserve a Kreative award, I should probably live up to that standard of expectation here. I promise you that there has been some knitting being done over here, just no photos tonight. I'm almost finished with a KAL friendship scarf that I'm working on and I'm hoping to be able to block it tomorrow. There should be a photo shoot in the near future. There's also a Snoozing Ned that just needs to be stitched up and then there should be some cute photos to be taken then too. So since I have nothing to show for my creative efforts at the moment, I give you a change in the look of the blog. Oh orange, how I do love thee, but you were beginning to depress me. Maybe with a new look I'll be more likely to stop by here and update more often.

On another much brighter note, this year V-Day was much less depressing than last year. My parents came down for a little visit and surprised me by bringing My Little Man with them! Oh do I love that little boy!!! We spent the day riding the metro, his new most favorite thing about visiting Aunt Wendy, and checking out the trains at the American History Museum. That and two days filled with giggles, hugs, and lots of snuggle time really made my weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as I did.

Coming back into view...

This past week has been pure black and gold bliss.... but I promised I would only celebrate for only a week and then I would move on to the rest of my life again. That sort of includes getting back into a regular blogging habit again. Especially since during this past week, two very awesome blogging friends have nominated me for two blogging awards. And in fear that their wonderful words of wisdom and countless readers might find their way over to here, I figured I might just need to get my butt in gear and report out what's been going on over here at Chez Wendae.

First up keeps me in the mind of my true black and gold heart, a special award from Miss Gracie donning her black and gold like a steel queen. (Not-so) Cynical Knitting Gal has given out these awards as a support to blogging and friendship. Check out her site for a big list of fellow bloggers who also received this thoughtful award. You can also get information as to where you can get your hands on the pattern for your very own Go Steelers! Lace Scarf designed by Cynical Knitter herself.

The other award I received this week came from my buddy Chan. I'm a little behind on this one, so if you're checking out her blog for it, you'll have to scroll down a little.

The official rules include:

1. Copy the award to your site - 2. Link to the person from whom you received the award - 3. Nominate 7 other bloggers - 4. Link to those on your blog - 5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominated.

I'm so honored that Chan thought of me when she nominated her bloggers. But I guess this means that I'll have to actually shout out about what I've been working on lately!

For the moment, here are my 7 nominations (btw, many of the blogs I read have already received this award or are in process of posting about it, but hopefully I can not only pay homage to a few of the greats that I read, but all call attention to some talent that you may not have been introduced to yet.

)

1. Let's first pay homage back to Chan herself for being an inspiration in several knitting projects. Her warm personality comes out in her blog just as much as it does in person. I'm so glad that we've had the chance to meet and share ideas as well as a warm shoulder to cry on.

2. Cynical Knitter should really be included in this listing. If not for being yet another member of the Steeler Nation, she's very creative in her design.

3. Artsy Math Teacher is a delightful woman I met in a swap a little whiles back. I've enjoyed watching her young crew grow up to be not so young anymore. I'm always amazed at what that woman can do living all the way out there in what appears (to a DC Metro girl) the middle of nowhere!

4. Java Gibber is another talented knitter that I enjoy popping in on. Click on over and scroll down to check out the sweet tooth her knitting has gotten her into! Talk about having your cake and knitting it too!

5. Anne. What can I say? How can I not pay tribute to a wonderful woman, talented knitter, excellent swap partner and author of Sunday Bloglines, introducing us to fabulously crafty knitters all over.

6. Little Loe's Knits & Nags has a mister over there that knits! Yes, ladies, you heard me right. Her man is now knitting along side her. Oh, the day dreaming and heart pitter-pattering... one day, one day.

7. Miss T's Mystery House Of Yarn & Horrors is great inspiration for both knitting and cooking. Check out how she and her knitting friends gathered for their 'SuperBowl'.

8. Reckless Glue knows that I adore her. She's completely charming in her retro throwback style and her knitting is always quite stellar.

9. Res Ipsa Knit With Her is another fabulous blogging creative gal that I had the pleasure of meeting through the SP12 I think. When I visit her blog I am always amazed by the creativity of her knits and the photos she takes. You can tell she really puts a lot of love into her projects!

10. One More Row. How often do you hear yourself saying that? If only my one more rows resulted in such beautiful pieces. And who wouldn't love knitting for those lovely little faces?

Well, that's 10 (even though some may be repeats from other nominations out there) and I know there are SO many more out there that I adore, but I hope that anyone who stops by here will take a few extra minutes to click on over and give all little wave and hello to these wonderfully talented and Kreativ bloggers!

I promise to post something soon to prove that I really am somewhat creative and have been knitting.